Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: math1h3@JANE.UH.EDU (David H. Wagner) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Re^4: Campus Crusade Message-ID: Date: 2 Jun 91 06:14:28 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Houston Lines: 33 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Louie Crew) writes: > >I doubt quite seriously that the political authorities Jewish and Roman >would have bothered with this "King of the Jews" had they not perceived >Jesus and his followers as a serious political threat. Nor would we >have ever heard about the "Holy Roman Empire" or the "one holy catholic >and apostolic church" if the church dealt only with "spiritual matters." >"Spiritual matters" are spooky indeed if they divorce you from having to care >for your neighbors' material well-being as carefully as you care for your own. But if the Catholic church had kept its nose out of politics, if it had not tried to use politic power to spread the gospel, it it had not then seen political power as something desireable for the church, it *might* have avoided the moral and doctrinal corruption that lead to the Reformation! You can't convince me, BTW, that the Romans perceived Jesus as a political threat. The Sanhedrin wanted his head because they thought Jesus would lead people astray (i.e., a religious threat) and that, incidentally, would decrease their political power. Pilate crucified Jesus because he was afraid of the Jewish leadership, not because he was afraid of a 'king' whose 'kindom is not of this world'. I agree that we have to be concerned about things like hunger, housing, etc. But our first priority has to be the preaching of the gospel--the gospel of forgiveness and eternal life. What good does it do if I feed someone, yet they suffer eternal punishment? David H. Wagner a confessional Lutheran My opinions and beliefs on this matter are disclaimed by The University of Houston.